Hi everyonme!! I'm, kinda, new on 2 wheels altogether. I was NOT sitting on a motorcycle for over 30 yearssince my teenage years Now, having spent my life stuck in traffic jams while living in big European capitals... I am out of Europe, living my mad African life on a motorbike, no more big traffic but, shitty roads full of pot-holes, cows on the roads, sleeping at night in the middle, no road signs, no consideration to the traffic lights, people riding, walking, driving in all directions, head-on, etc, etc. Fun.... good to keep ALL your senses switched on PROPER! It's an interesting place to start or re-start your motorbiking adventure I've got a couple of questions related to a choice of adventure bikes and I thought I'd love to listen to your suggestions.next post to come in the relevant section Thank you
Welcome & there's a can of worms you opened! My advice is to start with a 250cc - 400cc dual sport, preferably used (as you'll scratch it anyway) and with fuel injection (much easier to cope with variable gas quality). Easy & cheap to maintain with off the shelf parts and lots of options out there for luggage, racks & the like. There's no worse feeling than starting too big, worrying about dropping the bike and struggling to control it and pick it up. I've seen too many perfectly capable riders lose all their confidence because they started out on too much bike, ending up tired & frustrated with expensive broken plastic. Light weight is good, lower seat height is good, Japanese brand is good. I'd stay away from the cheaper Chinese knockoffs, some are actually not bad but you'll get what you paid for in terms of suspension which is a critical factor for your type of roads. I'm not sure what's available in your market, "East Africa" being a large place but some suitable candidates would be; Suzuki DRZ-400, albeit a little heavy Honda CRF250F or Rally model, can't really go wrong with a Honda 川崎KLX250,降低海洋t height is good news for newer riders Yamaha XT250/225, sold about a billion of these for good reason Price of entry for any one of these is pretty low & resale is easy so you can use it as a platform to safely hone your skills and give you an idea of the type of bike you'd like to graduate too.
嗨@BronekSounds like a fabulous life change. Congrats! I agree with@philipbarretton most points. However, if you are a bigger person. something like a KLR or DR650 may be a good choice too. KLR, although very capable off road, is more comfortable for the long rides and tarmac. The DR is better for off road. Both are low maintenance with lots of parts available and can be fixed with duct tape and bailing wire. The only issue is not fuel injected unless you buy a 2022 KLR. Also, if you are buying new, the upgraded Honda CFR300L or Rally is a fabulous option.
Both good options but to my mind, the lack of EFI is a deal killer particularly in a location where gas quality will vary hugely. Just spent the morning talking my son through starting his carb'd KLX in 20 degrees F after it sat too long.
Agreed. With the carb you need some extra skills and occasional patience. 2022 KLR has EFI. Let us know what you choose.
